Belleville Advocate

City: Belleville

County: Saint Clair

State: Illinois

The first permanent newspaper in St. Clair County, the Advocate began publication in March 1840. Initially a Democratic paper, an 1854 ownership change saw it change to support the Free Soil Party and later, the Republican Party.

History of St. Clair County, Illinois (Philadelphia: Brink, McDonough, 1881), 95, 101-02.